Lost and found
by red.rover22
Summary: When Alfred and Matthew want to make a pie, their parents, Francis and Arthur take them blackberry picking. One of the two children goes missing, leaving the family a panicky mess.


"Ow! Alfred! How many…times do I -ow! - have to tell you, the berries- Ow! Gah!- go in the bowl _not_ –ouch!- not your mouth!?" Arthur waded frustratedly through a patch of blackberries to get to his young son, who continued to eat more berries that he collected.

"Mmm," The boy closed his eyes dramatically and brought another to his lips, just to spite the man coming toward him. He just loved the taste of the juice exploding in his mouth. The colour that stained his soft, chubby hands and face. It felt weird getting seeds stuck in his teeth, so he would crush them between his front teeth. He thought it felt cool. Alfred especially loved the bushy-eyebrowed face of annoyance his caretaker got when he had to scrub the stains out of the boy's clothes. Ah yes, that was the best part. Alfred was suddenly jolted back to reality when he felt hands forcefully but gently grab his wrist and wrench it away from his mouth.

"We'll never be able to make that blackberry pie Mattie and you wanted if you keep eating the berries!" Arthur's stern expression softened when he saw the state of the small child, "You bloke, you're covered in juice! We should make a pie out of you!" Alfred squealed half delightedly and half from fright, clinging to his father's legs. When the Briton saw how stained his own pants were after picking Alfred up, a feeling of dread hit him like a rock to the stomach. "I'll be up all night cleaning that out…" He mumbled, scanning the area for his other son, the boy's twin, "Now where is your brother? I want to see what a mess he's managed to make himself… Mattie! Oh Mattie!"

When there was no answer, Arthur looked to Alfred, worried and confused. Alfred just smiled and shrugged, simultaneously reaching into the bowl again.

"No! I said no!" Arthur held the bowl out at arm's length and hoisted the disgruntled boy on his shoulders. "Matthew!" He cupped his now free hand around his mouth to help the sound travel better.

"Come out, come out wherever you are~!" The missing boy's twin sang, oblivious to the alarm rising in the other's voice as he called.

There was still no answer. Panic stricken, the Englishman waded as quickly as he could out of the thorn bushes, to his sleeping lover without getting torn up in the process. "Wake up, Frog," He snapped.

Francis squinted and stretched his legs out, obviously just waking up from a nap. "Oui..?" He yawned, covering his eyes in an attempt to shield them from the blinding sun.

"Where the bloody hell is Matthew!?"

The self-proclaimed sex beast shot up immediately at the question, "Quoi? I thought he was with you!?" His thick accent was just dripping with fear at the thought that they had lost his cher.

"I was watching _him_ you twat!" Arthur cried, pointing to the boy still balancing on his shoulder.

"But _I_ was watching him though…" Francis pouted slightly, but his eyes lit up when he saw the bowl of berries. He reached over to sneak some while Arthur searched around frantically for their missing son.

Arthur smacked his hand away unconsciously, making Alfred snicker, "…You-! I told you-! A big help you were, even if you were watching Alfred! All you did was sleep!" The two continued with their pointless bickering for a while, before it was finally put aside so the three could start their search. They must have called his name almost a hundred but there still no luck in finding the missing family member.

"Merde," Francis scolded himself as he looked out at the area in front of him, "Merde, merde, merde! I've made myself look bad in front of mon amour _again_! I can't believe I lost Matthieu again! And he's the easy one out of the two! He's never going to trust me with the kids if this keeps happening! Merde!"

Meanwhile, a very stressed Englishman clung to a very unhappy child, who had started to grow restless in the older man's arms. "Daddy~ I'm hungry~!" Alfred whined, squirming to get out of his father's grasp but to no avail. It was like Arthur expected this boy to disappear right before his very eyes if he were to be put down.

"You're always hungry."

"Aaaghhh~!"

"You can eat once we find your brother no hush up!"

"Hmph," Alfred pouted and crossed, keeping that position for only a second when an idea suddenly sprung to his mind. Find Mattie meant he would be the hero, like those guys in the stories Francis and Arthur told. They were so cool. Always saving people. Never wanting anything in return. Maybe if he saved Mattie, he could have sweets for dinner, instead of the charcoal Arthur was probably planning to make.

After begging to be put back on the other's shoulders for a better view, the small blond looked around slowly. He didn't know why, but he felt drawn to go into the woods a few meters behind them. It was like they were calling to him; he just had to check it out!

With no warning the boy climbed down from Arthur's shoulders and ran clumsily through the tall grass in the other direction. Arthur immediately spun around and ran after him, yelling for Alfred to stop. He chased him a little ways into the woods, slowed down by the trees and rocks obstructing his path.

Finally the mischievous boy stopped, beaming. He proudly pointed to a small boy, who looked almost exactly like him. He clung to his stuffed polar bear, sleeping under a large maple tree. "Found him!" Alfred said matter of factly.

"Oh my God! Francis! We found him! We're in the woods!" Arthur called to his lover as he bent down to gather the twins in a suffocating hug. Alfred groaned and Matthew gasped in surprise, suddenly awakened. The three were suddenly joined by the two boys' Papa, Francis, who took Arthur by surprise and hugged him from behind. How he managed to scare the other in the middle of the woods like that –one would think Arthur heard him- is a mystery but he received a few half hearted insults and a quick peck on the cheek for it.

"Oh Matthieu! Quoi- Why are you all the way out here, mon cher?" He asked the sleepy boy, pulling a maple leaf out of his blond hair.

"Um.." Matthew looked down nervously, his voice barely above a whisper, "I got bored and so I t-took a walk… I um.. I guess I got tired and fell asleep…" He paused to yawn, "I'm sorry… w-was that bad..?

Arthur couldn't help but laugh quietly at the hint of fear in his younger son's eyes, "No, no, of course not. We're just glad you're okay" He held the boys tighter, turning to kiss his Francis happily.

"Hey... since I found him and all, does that make me a hero?" Alfred interrupted.

"…Oui…"

"Can I have cake for dinner as a reward then!?" He asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not! No way! You're going to eat whatever it is I decide to make for you!" Arthur responded quickly, "What? Is something wrong?" He asked, having noticed the doomed expressions on his family's faces, "Alfred, stop it! You cannot sue me for 'denying your rights to a reward'! That isn't even a proper thing to sue someone over!"


End file.
